The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-30
Enormous Cooking Of Pork.

Early on last Sunday morning one of
employees of the Chicago packing snd
provision company, discovered fire in the
tanks exploded, scattering the burning
lard over the adjacent buildings, and
dozen separate fires were soon burning.
The destruction of the immense estab.
lishment was nearly complete. The loss
is 81 250,000.
The works occupied about six acres,
but the fire was kept in territory con-
iained in four large buildings. The
main building was 800 BY 475 feet. In
it a portion Of the killing was done, and
the hanging, cutting, packing, curing and
other work incidental to the slaughtering
establishment. Except the curing room,
in which were 100000 pounds of
short ribs, the main building and its con-
tents are entirely destroyed. The curing
room, 100 by $50 feet and four stories
high, lost its roof, but the stone fire walls
saved its contents, a portion of them in
roasted condition. On the east side Of
the main building was the warehouse,
12O by 400 feet, with four stories and a
basement. The two upper stories at the
south end were used for killing purposes.
In the warehouse were II 900 barrels of
mess pork, belonging to Armour & Co.
The building and much of the pork was
wholly destroyed. About 5000 live hogs
were in the building when the FIRE
started, but the company's employees
succeeded in getting most of them out.
Between 900 and 700 were burned alive
in the building.
The fact that no wind was blowing
when the fire started was probably the
only circumstance that saved the entire
stock yards from destruction. No person
seems to know the origin of the fire.
Several saw it simultaneously as it went
through the roof of the tank house.
Twenty engines and every reserve in the
yard we're quickly brought into play.
The efforts Of the fremen and hui reds
of stockyard employees we're bent to
keeping The conAagration confined to the
works of the Chicago company. 1t was
at this juncture, while one little squad of
fremen were standing in freight car
playing on the burning tank room that
the tanks exploded. A heavy beam
crashed through the car, smashing Pipe
man Bakers ankle, and knocking Elliott
unconscious. Soon afterward the walls
of the warehouse tumbled to the ground,
disclosing great heaps of mess pork.
P.D. Armour Immediately set hun.
dred men to work removing the meat.
Charred barrels of it were rolled out and
carted away. A little army trampled
over the huge piles of loose pork, and
carried big chunks of it out on the rail.
road tracks, where it was thrown in heaps.
Two wheeled carts and big four wheeled
trucks were loaded from these heaps like
garbage wagons from gutter. MIR.
Armour ruefully watched the mass of
pork and cinders being cleared away
while his manager stood on an elevation
| of mess pork and superintendent the work.
In the debris were the carcasses of hogs
roasted whole.
Perhaps the most exciting scene of the
day was presented when the men who
were att. npting to drive through the
covered runways the live hogs in the
upper stories, were forced by the flames
to desist. Below were scores of workmen
rolling out barrels of pork. Down on the
crowd pellmell leaped dozens If alright.
ed animals from windows or sprang
through open hatchways. Men who had
braved the flames fed from the falling
hogs and at a distance watched for
glimpses of the squealing brutes that,
crazed with pain, we're rushing madly
about in their tall prison of fire,